Good news - got the SnP!

[tasunkawitko]

good news - we "poked around in the couch cushions" and came up with a way to come up with the extra 20$. went up and purchased the smoker.

it's not often that i "blow" money on something that would be nice but don't really need - i gotta admit that i'm glad i did this time ~

thing i need to know right now is....is there anything i need to do before or while i am putting it together, or do all of the mods start after it is assembled?

thanks!

 

[pineywoods]

Congrats

 

[bigsteve]

Congrats!

Can't help with the mods, sorry. After it's assembled, I would recommend your run it up good and hot (empty) for an hour to burn off any grease, set the paint, etc.......


Glad to hear it worked out.

 

[rivet]

Congratulations buddy! Good for you and your wife who will soon enjoy the fruits of your smoke. Just burn it out as the quote above, and you'll be doing fine. Check out my thread today on the pics I posted on my SnP mods over the last year- you need not hurry and do them. Most of the fun is learning your unit and gaining skill as you learn the ins and outs of it. May the TBS follow you...

 

[alx]

never owned one- but good to hear your saga turned out timely.Happy smoking.

 

[tasunkawitko]

ok - got her put together (i named mine chalene) and am just starting to season it. i've got about 10 lbs of briquettes in and will season according to brinkmann's instructions. the temps here are pretty low (high 20s/low 30s) but wind is very mild so i don't anticipate any problems.

after this comes some good q (hopefully in the weeks to come) while i also sort out the mods.

first mod i'm going to be doing something about the wheels. what the heck is up with the stock ones?

 

[rivet]

HA! I had to laugh out loud...sorry Tasunka~ Don't those stock ones s**k? All that rattlin and clatterin and bangin drove me nuts! Try Ace, they have a good selection of lawnmower and buggy replacement wheels to choose from.

 

[azrocker]

I just bought Maude some new tires from Northern Tool. Someday I will let her wear them.

 

[bassman]

Congrats on the new smoker. It won't be long and you'll have new wheels on there. Looking forward to seeing some pics.

 

[tasunkawitko]

rivet - it was worse than that - the wheels kept falling off! i could handle a little rattling, but falling off just won't do for my charlene! lol....

saw your "wheel mod" and it looks good! we have an ace hardware here, so i will be looking for something similar soon.

only other problem is this: i seasoned/cured it last night according to instructions - went to bed as it was finishing. woke up this morning to find that much of the paint from the firebox door was gone. as far as i know, i dind't do anything to cause this, including touching it or anything like that. it looks like it was caused by heat from the charcoal (the directions said to use 10 lbs for the seasoning process.

anyway, i can paint it over if need be, but in the meantime i emailed brinkmann about it and requested a new firebox lid be sent to me.

other than that, things are looking good! i can see that air/heat flow from one end to the other is going to be an issue and am assuming that the mods take care of that problem!

 

[kookie]

Congrats on the new smoker.........

 

[rivet]

Don't worry about the firebox door paint. Every time you fire it up that's gonna happen to some degree. Once a year, do your PM's (preventive maintenance) and SOS the rust off and give it a good shot of heat resistant flat black paint. I put 2 or 3 coats on mine in spring. Although I barbecue and smoke year round, springtime is when I do it...don't know why. Mebbe just an excuse to hang around outdoors after winter.

You got the heat flow thing right, but with some tending you can smoke just fine as is. You'll just have to move the meat around a bit, that's all. If you want to cut to the chase and avoid that, get the exhaust pipe extension and you'll be set. You'll have to take the warming rack off, but that's no big loss. I've never bought into that gimmick on ANY grill anyway.

Good luck to you and PM me if you need any specifics or dimensions- I'll be glad to help you out. Look forward to your first smoke on Charlene.

 

[tasunkawitko]

sounds like a plan - thanks!

 

[smokin' dick]

Enjoy you new smoker, lots of good food in your future. As to the fire box, I've got a Silver Smoker which is similar to yours. Painted the box numerous times. Paint always burned off. Gave up on that and now rub on a little Crisco while the box is still warm. No rust no peeling, just a nice black patina.

 

[tasunkawitko]

thanks, **** - makes perfect sense ~ i did spray some pam on this morning and rub it in - firebox was cold but i'll keep doing it regularly.

 

[billbo]

Congrats on the new smoker! I am jealous!

 

[seenred]

Congrats on the new rig, TW! I'm sure you and 'Charlene' will make lots of beautiful food together.

 

[jdt]

you can help it last alot longer with this 1/8 inch firebox plate, helps keep the firebox from burning out so quick.

halfway down the page, right hand side $14.99 sounds like a pretty good deal but it may be a little costly to ship as it is bound to be a little heavy.

but even if its $25 to your door thats cheaper than replacing the firebox in three years


http://www.hawgeyesbbq.com/BBQ-Accessories6.html

 

[tasunkawitko]

JDT - i'll check that out - makes perfect sense. also, my son is training to be a welder right now - perhaps he can build a plate?

 

[jdt]

yes, most places that tech welding will have have the iron worker you would need to roll up the 1/8 or even 1/4 inch steel. We visited a ranch in the crazy mountains last fall, gotta get back to montana soon.